Social Media vs. Networking
After being asked to speak at a social media roundtable, I was pretty flattered. And then we began talking about content and how the panel should flow. At which point, I got pretty nervous. It’s not that I have a fear of speaking in public (even though sometimes I do, so if you are at Samford on Thursday be nice)
My nerves more came from the fact that the concepts and ideas behind using social media successfully are so broad and far reaching that I began to wonder if we could get them all into an hour long discussion.
The first question we will be addressing seemed like an easy one.
- What is social media/social networking?
And then I thought about it. That question alone could spark enough dialog and debate to take up the entire session. In my opinion, social media can be defined as the online interaction between individuals, groups, companies etc. across various platforms such as facebook, linked in, twitter, friendfeed, blogs, etc.
Or not…
Everyone has their own opinion on the separation of social media and social networking, even though that debate is waning with the adoption of online engagement on the whole. I personally view social media (noun) as the tools in which social networking (verb) occurs.
Ex. social media is facebook. Social networking is creating a facebook fan page for your business and using it to communicate your message, interact with fans, garner feedback, and use this input for in your business operations.
Others like to break the definition by the type of platform
Ex. Linked-In is social networking, You-Tube is social media
Whatever you want to call it, ‘IT’ is a powerful shift in the way we as individuals are interacting with one another, a shift in the way we get our news, and finally a shift in the way we research products and services – which leads to the involvement of companies in these online communities.
So how do companies successfully get into social media? That depends on the company. (insert shameless plug here) A good first step would be coming to hear our panel Social Media: Who Needs it Anyway roundtable tomorrow, with me and:
Kara Kennedy, Director of External Affairs, Brock School of Business
Ike Pigott, Positive Position Media Consulting
MODERATOR: Wade Kwon, Instructor, Birmingham Blogging Academy
- libby sexton
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June 3rd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
You’re right: It can be tricky to define in a meaningful way, especially to those who have never really used any of the channels out there.
Never fear: It begins with questions and conversation. Looking forward to your insights on the panel.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:05 am
[...] Panelist Libby Sexton of Big Communications shares her initial thoughts on her Big blog post, “Social Media vs. Networking.” [...]
June 4th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Libby,
I thought the panel was excellent, and if you had any nerves they didn’t show. One point I wanted to make more explicitly was that even if you’re not going to set up an account for your business on any of these sites, as Ike said, “They’re already saying bad things about you.” Setting up the searches and monitoring what is being said is really the first step to understanding how these tools can benefit a business.
Great job today!